London-based buyout firm Permira has named former Clifford Chance (CC) private equity lawyer Peter Gibbs as its next global general counsel. 

Gibbs will succeed current general counsel Ulrich Gasse, another ex-CC lawyer, at the start of next year following Gasse’s retirement. 

Gibbs brings 27 years of experience to his new role at Permira – a key CC private equity client – which he first joined in 2001 from the Magic Circle law firm. He currently serves as managing director and chief fund counsel and earlier was chief operating officer of Permira Credit from its inception in 2007 until 2021, overseeing operational aspects of the business with a focus on fund and product structuring, capital raising, legal and compliance and the investment process. 

He will take over as general counsel in January 2024 from Frankfurt-based Gasse, who is retiring at the end of this year after 20 years at Permira. Before joining the company he spent five years in the M&A private equity team at CC. 

In a statement Permira said Gasse had played a major role in building its legal function globally, which now comprises 10 professionals. He has supported more than 30 transactions during his time at the company across its core sectors of technology, consumer, healthcare and services, including the acquisitions of Italian shoemaker Golden Goose, German software developer TeamViewer and Neuraxpharm, all of which saw CC called in to advise Permira. 

Permira advises funds with total committed capital of €77bn+ and makes long-term majority and minority investments across two core asset classes – private equity and credit. The company, which in March announced the final close of its latest flagship buyout fund, P8, with total capital commitments of €16.7bn, said Gibbs and Gasse have worked closely together for more than a decade and have prepared the transition of leadership in recent years.